Separated Catheter Tip Tubes for Flexible Vessel Navigation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The distal end portion of conventional catheters lacks flexibility, making it difficult to advance in blood vessels during medical procedures.

Innovation Solution

A catheter design featuring a distal end side tube and a rear end side tube that are separated from each other, with varying bending rigidity and materials, allowing for improved flexibility at the distal end portion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the distal end portion of the catheter is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then the catheter can maintain its shape, but the flexibility is reduced making it difficult to advance in blood vessels

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidflexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The catheter is divided into multiple segments with different rigidity characteristics. The distal end portion includes a first segment with lower rigidity for flexibility and a second segment with higher rigidity for structural integrity, allowing each segment to perform its specific function optimally

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the catheter are assigned different mechanical properties. The distal end portion has localized variations in rigidity where the first segment provides flexibility for navigation while the second segment provides structural integrity for support, creating optimal local characteristics for each region

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20250295887A1catheter
Publication Date: 2025.09.25 ASAHI INTECC CO LTD
  • US20250295887A1 patent drawing
  • US20250295887A1 patent drawing
  • US20250295887A1 patent drawing

AI summary

A catheter includes a hollow shaft, a distal end side marker that is provided at a distal end portion of the shaft, a rear end side marker that is provided at the distal end portion of the shaft and is closer to a rear end side than the distal end side marker, a distal end side tube covering an outer periphery of the distal end side marker, and a rear end side tube covering an outer periphery of the rear end side marker, and a rear end of the distal end side tube and a distal end of the rear end side tube are provided to be separated from each other.